All My Love
by Little Miss Thinker
Summary: "I'm not in love with Ladybug!" "Then why do you write about her all the time?" "I'm working on a comic book with Nathaniel!." "So you like Nathaniel then?" Do I like Nathaniel? That would explain why I want to hang out with him. - Miraculous Prompt Challenge #3 from the Miraculous Amino


Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous!

Summary: "I'm not in love with Ladybug!"  
"Then why do you write about her all the time?"  
"I'm working on a comic book with Nathaniel!."  
"So you like Nathaniel then?"  
Do I like Nathaniel? That would explain why I want to hang out with him.

\- Miraculous Prompt Challenge #3 from the Miraculous Amino

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All My Love

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When Marc arrived at school on Monday morning, the students of Collège Françoise Dupont were in a buzz. The second issue of 'Ladybug' had just been released the night before and everyone Marc had passed could not stop talking about it. He couldn't help himself from smiling in satisfaction after hearing the kind words people were saying. He and Nathaniel had spent hours slaving over their second issue together, and they were very proud of how it all turned out!

As Marc quietly made his way to the art room, he felt his ears prickle with heat at the thought of all the sleepless nights he had with Nathaniel the week before. He buried his head into the cover of his notebook: no one had to see the developing light flush on his warm cheeks.

This wasn't the first time Marc had found himself thinking fondly of his red-haired friend. How could he not?

[i] Nathaniel... Nathaniel was amazing.

For one, he was a brilliant artist! How he captured the movement, the expressions, the attitudes of the subjects he drew, Marc couldn't possibly understand. Not only that, Nathaniel was kind. He admits; they hadn't gotten off on the right foot when they first met. But after the events that fateful day, they were inseparable and he was becoming one of Marc's best and closest friends. Not to mention, Nathaniel was handsome. His dark red hair that seemed to glow bright orange in the light; his turquoise-blue eyes that shined whenever he talked; his small, pink lips that always seemed to smile in his direct-

Marc shook his head instantly, desperately shooing the image of his /friend/ out of his head and slapped his cheeks. He really needed to find some way to control his wandering thoughts!

He pushed the door to the art room open, hoping to distract himself a bit before classes started for the day. There weren't many people there in the morning, something that Marc had found out and enjoyed since Marinette showed him the art room a month ago. He ducked past a boy who was painting what looked to be the Seine at sunset and awkwardly waved back at a girl who was jamming her head to whatever music she was listening to. As Marc sat down at his desk, he sighed to himself and looked down at his notebook. What to write today?

Before he could come up with an idea, Rose burst into the room, followed lazily by Alix. The blonde pixie-haired girl quickly looked around and immediately squealed when she noticed him in the corner of the room.

"Oh, Marc!" Rose gushed, running over to him in a hurry. She was waving the latest copy of his comic tightly in her hand. "I loved this issue! The way you wrote Ladybug and Mighty-illustrator was so romantic and I need to know what's going to happen to them next!" Rose opened the magazine and shoved the last page into his face. "Like how is Ladybug going to respond to Mighty-illustrator's confession? And what about Chat Noir?" Rose sighed and hugged the pages to her chest, "You can't do this to me!"

Marc felt his cheeks heat up as Rose continued to gush over the issue. "W-wow. T-thanks Rose." He quietly responded, rubbing his arm in embarrassment. Mighty-illustrator confessing to Ladybug was a plot point that Nathaniel had wanted to include last minute. Although Marc was surprised at the turn of events, writing the confession was actually his favorite part of the entire issue!

"You must really be in love with Ladybug!"

Marc's jade green eyes instantly shot up to Rose who was continuing to look at him excitedly. He frowned and tilted his head. "W-what do you mean? I'm not in love with Ladybug."

"Oh," Rose stopped her elation and awkwardly looked back down to the issue. "But the confession at the end seemed so real. Like it was actually /you/ who was confessing to her, you know?"

"W-what, n-no!" Marc stammered.

Alix, who had been admiring her street art design she was working on, took a glance at the two. "Don't worry Rose. I thought the same thing too." Alix grabbed a spray can off the floor. "Even in class last week, Nathaniel mentioned how much you write about her all the time. Not to mention that Ladybug Diary you wrote a while back."

"N-no! T-that diary was just for the comic book I'm working on with Nathaniel." He turned to Rose. "And the confession was just for the comic book as well. I don't love Ladybug."

"Oh, I get it then," Alix said with a grin. She blew on the tip of the spray can and cocked it towards Marc. "So, you just like Nathaniel."

[i] Do I like Nathaniel? Does that explain why I can't stop thinking about him and why I want to hang out with him all the time?

Marc instantly blushed, shaking his head profusely from those dangerous thoughts. "W-What? N-no! O-Of course not!"

Alix chuckled at the boy's reaction, "Relax Anciel. I'm just teasing. Like anyone could like that doofus."

"Like what doofus?"

All their heads turned as Nathaniel walked into the room, waving his hand to his friends in greeting. Marc's eyes immediately widened and quickly turned his face down which he knew was already bright red. "N-Nathaniel!"

Alix snorted and rolled her eyes at the arrival of her best friend, "Doofus as in you, Nate!"

Nathaniel rolled his eyes and shot Alix a soft glare, "Takes one to know one, Kubdel."

Alix laughed before putting on her gas mask and shaking the can of red spray paint, "Touche, Kurtzberg. Touche."

Marc felt his heart race as Nathaniel made his way over to him. Why did he have to come here? Now?!

"Hey, Marc!" Nathaniel greeted, placing his backpack on the table and taking a seat next to him. "Did you see how everyone was reading our issue?" Nathaniel grinned, and Marc tried his best to control the heat developing on his face. "It's amazing!"

Marc gingerly nodded his head, "Y-Yeah. I-it is."

"So I've been thinking," Nathaniel continued, "Now that our comics are getting more and more popular, we should talk about creating a schedule together as well as talk about what our next issue should be." He reached into his backpack and pulled out his sketchbook. "We're going to be spending a lot of time together now, so I hope you don't mind." Nathaniel gave him a large smile.

He instantly stopped breathing.

"Oh and I gotta show you this," Nathaniel paused, not noticing his friend turning red in the face from lack of oxygen. He opened to his most recent drawing. "When you were akumatized, your name was Reverser. Mine was Evillustrator. But for these comics, I made myself become a superhero. So in this next issue, let's finally introduce you as a superhero as well!"

"M-me?" Marc found himself uttering, slowing looking down at the sketch Nathaniel was showing him. It was a rough sketch of himself...or his akumatized self actually. Except he was all white instead of black and white like when he transformed. Though it wasn't finished, it looked amazing.

Nathaniel gave a small smile, "Of course! While I was sketching this, I was trying to think of your superhero name which could be like," Nathaniel pursed his lips slightly. He tilted his head in thought, before snapping his fingers excitedly, "The Inverser!"

Marc couldn't help himself and let out a laugh. "The Inverser? Really?"

"Hey!" Nathaniel chuckled back, nudging Marc's shoulder with his own. "I'm just the artist in our relationship. I'm sure you can come up with an even cooler name for yourself."

Marc's body instantly turned to flames as Nathaniel's shoulder brushed his. He swallowed hard. He needed to get out of there before he melted! "C-Class, u-uh, h-have to go n-now." He shot up from his seat, startling Nathaniel.

"O-oh, uh, okay." Nathaniel took a look at the clock and frowned to himself as they still had 10 minutes before school started. He shook his head and turned to his friend, who seemed to be in a panic. "After school then? You free? We can talk about the next issue and about our comic's future!"

Marc bit his lip and turned away from his friend, reaching out to hand the sketchbook back to Nathaniel. "S-sure, a-after s-school then."

Nathaniel shook his head and pushed back his sketchbook to Marc. "You keep it for today. I want you to come up with your superhero name by this afternoon. So you can use my quick sketch as inspiration." Nathaniel smiled. "See you after school then, Marc!"

As Marc absentmindedly made his way out of the classroom, he found himself hugging Nathaniel's sketchbook tightly to his chest. 

" _So, you just like Nathaniel then."_

Alix's words rang through his head as he shuffled his way to his classroom. Oh boy. Maybe he really did like Nathaniel!

 **. . .**

Throughout the rest of the day, Marc tried his best to calm his racing heart. It didn't help that Nathaniel's sketchbook buried deep in his backpack seemed to scream at him. As the afternoon got closer and closer, his anxiety started to take over his body. As soon as the final bell rang, Marc raced his way down the steps and disappeared to his favorite secluded spot: underneath the stairs. He desperately needed some time to think before meeting up with Nathaniel.

 _This just couldn't be happening._

He couldn't _actually_ be in love with Nathaniel...could he? Yes, he was amazing. Yes, he was kind. Yes, he was handsome. But that didn't mean he /liked/ the boy, right? Maybe he was just thinking too much. Alix was just joking after all. He didn't even know what it meant to like someone, let alone love someone. Nathaniel was just his friend. He never had many friends thus far, so maybe what he was feeling was what friendship feels like?

"Hey, Marc!" His thoughts were cut off when a soft female voice called out to him. He looked up and saw Marinette staring back at him through the stair steps. "What are you doing hiding under the staircase again?"

"N-nothing. J-Just thinking really quick."

"Oh, well I heard from Nathaniel in class that you were supposed to meet up with him after school today," Marinette walked over and sat down next to him. "He's probably already waiting for you in the art classroom."

Marc glanced down at his lap and twirled the pen he was holding in his hand. He wasn't ready to face Nathaniel just yet. Not when he was confused with what he actually thought of the boy! He turned his head and stared at his friend instead, who was looking eagerly around the courtyard. When Marc noticed a deep flush on her cheeks, he turned his head in the direction she was looking in and saw Adrien Agreste talking and laughing with his friend, Nino. Marc tilted his head and pursed his lips.

"H-Hey Marinette?"

He must have scared her as Marinette let out a small 'eep', turning back around and blushing brightly to him. "Y-Yes Marc?"

He bit his lip, "S-so I know you like Adrien," he started.

Marinette's blue eyes widened as she instantly shook her hands out in front of her. "W-? N-no! W-what gave you that idea?"

Marc chuckled and looked down at his hands. "It's okay Marinette. I won't tell anyone." He bit his lip as he continued to look down at his lap.

Marinette stared at him silently, the blush on her cheeks slowly beginning to disappear as she watched her friend struggle with what he was going to say next.

"C-can I ask you a question?" Marc whispered finally, twirling the pen in his hand.

"Sure, anything."

He turned to her, "Why do you like him?"

Marc watched as Marinette's cheeks flushed once more into a deep pink glow. She scratched the back of her neck and weakly chuckled. "O-oh," Marinette giggled softly as she looked back around to stare at Adrien again. "Well, h-he's just," Marinette paused and looked back to Marc. "He's just /so/ wonderful. He's kind to everyone, even Chloe of all people. He's selfless and never uses his Agreste name to get things. He's also intelligent and despite being homeschooled all his life, he's still always willing to learn and participate in class. He's brave as well, always trying to help during attacks, even as a civilian." Marinette sighed happily and turned to look at Adrien once again. "Not to mention how beautiful he is." Marinette gushed, staring dreamily at the love of her life. A short pause followed after and Marinette's eyes widened slightly when she remembered she wasn't alone. She instantly covered her lips and stared back at Marc. "U-uh, I-I mean!"

Marc chuckled, "I agree. Adrien sure is beautiful." Marinette's face reddened once more as she covered her face with her hands.

Marc smiled at his friend but looked back down at his lap. Well, that didn't really help! He felt the same exact way towards Nathaniel. But that didn't mean he liked him like Marinette liked Adrien...did it?

"So how did you know you really liked him?" He found himself asking.

Marinette looked up and tilted her head in confusion. "W-what do you mean?"

"I don't know. Like how did you know you liked him as a lover and not just as a friend?"

Marinette pursed her lips in thought. "Well, does there have to be a distinction between the two?" Marinette asked, reaching into her pocket and pulling out a charm of some sort. "Adrien and I didn't start off on the right foot when we first met. I hated him, and thought of him as just another Chloe." Marinette's cheeks flushed as she twirled the charm in her hand. "When he apologized to me, something just hit me that day and I can't imagine my life without him anymore, especially as I got to really know him." Marinette looked at Marc. "I love him as a friend _**and**_ as a lover, and I think that's pretty special." She gave him a small smile. "I-It just makes me happy that I actually found someone that I can give all my love to, you know?"

Marc felt himself smiling as he watched his friend confess her true feelings. So this was what love is... His thoughts moved to Nathaniel and he finally began to understand his true feelings as well.

"D-Did I help you in any way?" Marinette asked, glancing shyly at her friend when he didn't respond to her confession.

Marc beamed at her and nodded his head happily, "Yeah, actually. I know exactly what I need to do now." He quickly shot up from the ground and started packing his things back up before heading out to leave. "Thank you, Marinette again. For everything."

Marinette cocked her head to the right at his sudden change in demeanor but smiled, nonetheless. "It's no problem, Marc. Anything to help out a friend."

Before Marc left, he peeked through the steps and called out to her. "And hey, Marinette?" She turned around to look at him. He gave her a large grin, "Adrien would be lucky to have a girl like you that loves him like that."

He ran up the stairs to the art room before he could see her face flush red.

 **. . .**

When Marc entered the art room, he immediately noticed Nathaniel who was slumped over their table. His head was resting on top of the desk with his shoulders slumped lazily on its edge; he was letting his body soak up the afternoon rays as it shined from the window.

 _Beautiful…_

"Nathaniel?" He called out, and as the red-haired boy raised his head to stare back at him, the world disappeared in a flash.

Marc felt himself melting as turquoise blue oceans consumed his every thought, drowning him in a sea of wonder and mystery. He was afraid to let the sea pull him into the unknown: a world Marc absolutely knew nothing about. But as pink lips smiled in his direction and the sun hit hair that burst into flames, Marc allowed himself to be pulled; engulfed by the coolness of this unfamiliar and foreign feeling until he was sinking; sinking alone. But before he drowned, he appeared, shining and glistening in front of him and all that was left was heat.

Marc didn't know when he moved forward until he found himself hesitantly reaching out and brushing the bangs that constantly fell in front of Nathaniel's face.

Both their eyes widened at the sudden gesture, and Marc snapped himself out of his daydreams.

He instantly felt his body burn and he quickly brought his hand to the back of his neck. "S-sorry. I-I di-didn't...I-I mean."

Nathaniel, turning his head to the side, averted his gaze. His cheeks were blossoming in rosy red. "I-it's f-fine." He found himself stuttering. He let out a small cough and adjusted himself in his seat. "U-uh, so what took you so long to get here?" He asked, attempting to diffuse what had just happened.

Marc, still flushing red, awkwardly placed his bag on the table and sat down next to him. "I-I had to figure out some things first," he replied, "And I was talking with Marinette."

Nathaniel's brows rose slightly at the mention of his classmate but nevertheless shook his head. "I hope one of the things you figured out was your superhero name."

Marc's green eyes widened as he internally slapped his face. He was so caught up in understanding his feelings, he didn't even bother to think about the comic!

Nathaniel chuckled seeing his partner's expressions, "It's alright, Marc. We have plenty of time to decide what will happen for our next issue."

Marc let out a sigh and nodded his head. He hated disappointing people, especially Nathaniel. He reached into his bag and pulled out his sketchbook, "S-sorry, about that."

"It's okay," Nathaniel smiled, taking his book back. He leafed through his sketches and as his fingers swiped through to find the last page he was working on, he paused and looked up quickly. "D-did you end up looking through my sketchbook at all by any chance?"

Marc winced but shook his head. "I-I know. I'm sorry. We agreed we would work on the comic and I would think of my hero version. B-but things got hectic for me today, and I didn't have inspiration and I—"

Nathaniel shook his head. "N-no, Marc. I-it's fine." Nathaniel scratched the back of his head, his cheeks rising in a rosy flush."I-I just forgot I had some sketches in here that well…" He looked down."Let's just say it would've been awkward if you saw them."

Marc stared at him in confusion. "Like what?"

Nathaniel's cheeks flushed a deeper red, turning his entire head into a ripe tomato. Marc couldn't help himself but let out a snort.

"W-What? W-why are you laughing?" Nathaniel muttered, bringing his sketchbook closer to his chest.

Marc continued to laugh, rubbing small tears out of his green eyes. "I-I'm sorry, Nathaniel. B-but your f-face looked s-so funny!" He finally made out between laughs.

Nathaniel brought his hand to touch his cheeks, and his eyes widened at how warm they felt. He knew whenever he turned red, he ended up looking like a tomato, especially because of his red-orange hair. "Marc!" He said, trying to sound angry, but couldn't help the small hint of glee escape his lips as he watched his partner laugh happily.

Marc continued to grin and shook his head. "I-I'm sorry, Nathaniel. I'll stop, I'll stop." Marc brushed the remaining tears from his face before letting out a last chuckle. "S-So, what was that about your sketchbook?"

"It doesn't matter anymore," Nathaniel said, shuffling to the last sketch he made of them . He didn't dare mention the multitude of sketches of a certain black-haired boy. He coughed awkwardly before placing it down on the table. "Let's talk about our next issue." He started sketching out a scene he had been thinking of during Ms. Bustier's class. "I was thinking this could happen…"

Marc smiled, as he watched Nathaniel start to sketch. This. This was what he loved the most. Just /being/ with him. In this very moment alone in the art room together, laughing and working on something they both loved, Marc was suddenly hit.

 _This was what love felt like._

Marinette was right. It really did feel special being able to give all of his love to a person who he now couldn't possibly live without. And it felt...nice.

"So, how does that look Marc?"

He gazed into those swirling blue ocean eyes and absentmindedly nodded his head to Nathaniel, not bothering to look down at the sketch because he knew it would always be nothing short of amazing. "Looks great, Nathaniel."

Maybe one day he'll confess all his love to Nathaniel. But as for now? He'll just secretly enjoy loving him as a friend and as a lover.

Author's Note: Thank you for reading my entry! I know I twisted the plot challenge quotes around and I know they never really got 'together together' in the end, but I wanted to make it realistic! Marc, to me, didn't seem like a character who would outright confess to someone right away (nor does Nathaniel for that matter). He's a shy, introverted, self-conscious little nugget! That doesn't mean no relationship ended can up however...they just need more time to develop is all. ;)

Maybe one day I'll write more on these two...but for now, let's just let them enjoy the ride!

Let me know what you think!


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